Improvements in Transparency and Disclosures for Unionbusters Applauded

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 23, 2016

CONTACT:Bailey Dick
bailey(at)jwj.org
202-393-1044 x126

Washington D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final version of the “persuader rule,” which will bring greater transparency to how much employers are paying third-party consultants to stifle the voices of working people and lead anti-union campaigns.

“Despite research confirming the widespread use of union avoidance consultants, there is little we know about the amount of money – some of it taxpayer money – employers spend on unionbusters. The government’s current reporting requirements fail to capture the scope and influence of the unionbusting industry, which has deprived employees, taxpayers and policymakers of vital information about how employers and their consultants are influencing efforts by working people in their efforts to form a union.

By changing the rules, the Department of Labor is putting in place some reasonable measures to ensure companies have to disclose more of their spending on anti-union consultants.

Anti-union organizations and for-profit “unionbusting” consultants have greatly contributed to men and women experiencing enormous obstacles when coming together for a fair return on their work. While it will not dramatically curb the practice of unionbusting, the new rule should shed more light on the mostly unregulated use of union-avoidance consultants and empower working people to learn who is stealthily directing their employers’ anti-union campaigns.

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Learn more about the funding, the origins, the tactics, the motives and the players involved in undermining working people and their unions.